Estate Planning for Unmarried Parents
There are many reasons that couples remain together but decide against marriage. The couple might decide against marriage for financial reasons, or for certain social or ethical reasons. Regardless of the reason, when a couple has a child together and remains unmarried, it is particularly important for both of the partners to have a detailed estate plan in place to ensure that the child is provided for and that the other parent will have everything they need in the event of the unexpected death of the other parent. What are some key estate planning considerations for unmarried parents who remain in a life partnership? Our Gwinnett County estate planning lawyers can tell you more.
Ensuring the Other Partner is Named on All Essential Documents
It will be particularly important to make sure that the other parent — your partner — is named on all essential estate planning documents and tools. Unless you create all of these documents, under Georgia law, your partner may not have any legal rights to your property or to make important decisions for you in the event of your incapacity. Both of you will want to work with an estate planning attorney to create the following documents in which the other is named as an agent or a beneficiary:
- Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care;
- Durable financial power of attorney;
- Revocable living trust;
- Bank account payable-on-death (POD) designation;
- Pension beneficiaries; and
- Insurance policy beneficiaries.
Establishing a Revocable Living Trust to Provide for the Surviving Partner and Child
It will be important for both parents to consider a revocable living trust in which the other parent is the named beneficiary, and potentially in which the child is named as a beneficiary when they reach the age of majority. Your estate planning lawyer can discuss the details of this type of trust with you.
Having Insurance Policies in Which the Other Parent is Named as a Beneficiary
Both parents should have life insurance policies in which the other parent is named as a beneficiary so that they can use those funds in continuing to provide care for their shared minor child.
Both Parents Creating Wills in Which They Name an Agreed-Upon Guardian to Provide for their Minor Child or Children
While it can be difficult to think about, there are situations in which both parents die unexpectedly, such as in an accident in which they are traveling together or near in time to one another due to accident or illness. It is crucial for each parent to have a will in which they identify a guardian who can provide care for their minor child in the event that neither of them can do so themselves.
Contact a Norcross Estate Planning Attorney for Assistance with Your Georgia Estate Planning Needs
Parents who share a child but are not married can find themselves in complicated situations when one of the parents dies unexpectedly — if they have not worked carefully with an estate planning lawyer to avoid these types of complications. Many unmarried parents choose to be together without getting married, and there are many different reasons that two people choose to remain in a relationship together and to share a child without entering into the legal relationship of marriage.
What this means in the event of the death of one of the parties, however, is that estate planning is crucial to ensure that the other parent has everything they need to continue providing for themselves and their child. An experienced Norcross estate planning lawyer at Bowman Law Firm can speak with you and your partner today about estate planning in Georgia for unmarried parents. Contact us to have your questions answered and to get started on your estate plan.
Source:
law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-53/
